In today’s first reading, we see the annoyance of the prophet Jonah’s over the mercy of God towards the Ninevites. He considered his journey to the Assyrian capital as a waste of time., after all, God still spared their lives, which he as a Jew did not want.
He is yet to learn that he also should be thankful after receiving mercy from God and a second chance to be alive. God wanted to show mercy for the souls of these unbelieving people and to prove that He is the God of all nations. Jonah was indeed a gloomy sort.
In contrast to all other prophets of Israel, Jonah’s mission was to the heathens. Many critics however want to lower the book of Jonah to an allegory or a legendary myth because of the miracles described in it (especially the appearing of the great fish devouring Jonah). But the Lord Jesus in the New Testament Himself testifies clearly to the historicity of the prophet Jonah, his experiences, and what the book stands for.
The book of Jonah contains a typological representation of the history of the people of Israel. Israel has failed as a witness for God and has been cast into the sea of nations or the dispersion for a long time. But Israel has been kept as Jonah was kept miraculously and will be God’s witness for the nations in the latter days. The gospel of the kingdom will one day be spread by converted Jews over the whole globe.
In addition, Jonah’s experience in the belly of the fish is a prefiguration of Christ being buried in the tomb. When the crowds were getting bigger following Jesus and demanding signs and wonders, He said, “ this is a wicked generation.
It is asking for a sign and the only sign is the sign of Jonah. Luke 11. 29. In Matthew 12:39-40, the Lord Jesus is announcing to the scribes and Pharisees that no sign but the sign of Jonah will be given to them: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the great fish’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” In other words, Jesus links his mystery of salvation through His Passion, Death, Burial, and Resurrection to how God saved Jonah. Thus, Jonah becomes relevant today since we are called by Christ and preach repentance to all the nations (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47) as we read in Luke 11:30.
In all, we can say that Jonah shows the character of the human heart. The human heart which, also as far as believers are concerned, often reluctantly submits to the will of God, seeks its honor, looks after itself first of all, and which can be as hard as stone towards other men.
Even the truth of God pleases the human heart often only as long as one’s importance can be stressed by it! All this Jonah had to learn in a very hard way. He would have caused more disaster if he had not carried out the mission God sent him. When we do not obey God, we are liable to judgment and others who come under us may receive the judgment of God because of our sheer disobedience or we led them astray.
Throughout his earthly life, Jesus taught us one great teaching which is Doing the will of the Father. He says my food is to do the will of the Father. In the Lord’s Prayer, we see that the will of God is key to all our petitions and supplication. We must accept and recognize the will of God in all that we do. The recognition of God’s will helps us to humble ourselves and as we place everything in God’s loving care we become consoled.
At the Garden of Gethsamane, Jesus was troubled in the heart because of what He was about to experience. He prayed to the Father that, ‘I wish this chalice should pass over him. Not my will but let you will be done. Then an angel came to console him. That should be our mentality in our prayer. When we submit everything and who we are into God’s hand we are consoled and nothing can snatch us from his hands.
By your work, you show what you love and what you know.- St. Bruno pray for us. Amen.
